Hana and KB suspected of favoring children of VIP clients in hiring process

Posted : 2018-02-05 07:57

Updated : 2018-02-05 18:26

By Jhoo Dong-chanKEB Hana and KB Kookmin Bank are suspected of offering special favors to children of high-profile officials and their VIP clients in the recruiting process.Last year, Woori Bank was found to have recruited new employees with ties to high-ranking government officials and VIP clients for three years from 2015. Woori Bank CEO Lee Kwang-goo resigned amid the scandal in November, and the case is now widening across the industry.According to sources, Monday, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) requested a prosecution investigation into the five of the country's major banks _ KEB Hana, KB Kookmin, BNK Busan, Kwangju and Daegu Bank. Of them, KB Kookmin Bank allegedly expanded the number of candidates in the document screening process when the bank CEO Yoon Jong-kyu's grandniece applied to the company.The union of KB Kookmin said that 20 names were included in the list. Along with Yoon's grandniece, children of a former KB Kookmin Bank outside director and executives were also included, it added.KB Kookmin declined to comment about the allegation."KB Kookmin Bank will faithfully cooperate with the prosecution probe. The misunderstanding will be straightened out," an official said.KEB Hana Bank is also suspected of making a list of 55 candidates, and they all passed the company's document screening in 2016. Of them, six were left after its written test, and they all managed to get hired after the interview. "A number of unfair practices were found in our investigation. I believe our suspicion will be proven in the prosecution probe," FSS head Choi Heung-sik said.The unfair practice in the recruiting process is believed to be a delicate issue as it directly links to volatile social problems like youth unemployment and wealth polarization. Last year, Woori Bank was also suspected of giving special treatment to children of powerful people, including FSS and National Intelligence Service officials as well as the bank's VIP clients.The bank's unfair practice was unveiled during a National Assembly annual inspection of government, and Woori Bank CEO Lee resigned from the post in November.Lee took charge of the lender in December 2014, and was known to have successfully led the company's long-awaited privatization along with strong earnings in 2016. His term was also renewed in March last year for another two years, but he had to step down amid the strong public outcry. If the prosecution finds similar practices during its investigation, KB Kookmin and KEB Hana Bank CEOs could find themselves in the same dead end as Lee did.Especially, the bad blood between the FSS and KEB Hana Bank came to surface when the nation's third-largest banking group pushed ahead with its plan to nominate Chairman Kim Jung-tae for a third consecutive term last month.The finance watchdog requested the bank's nomination committee to delay the date for short-listing candidates for the post, questioning Kim's willingness to thoroughly carry out corporate governance restructuring, as he is known to have been involved in controversial decisions to extend loans for a local startup.The Financial Services Commission said it will recommend removing Kim if the unfair practice in hiring is proven by the prosecution.